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BRITAIN-RUSSIA-POISON-NOVICHOK
UK police identify Novichok suspects as Russians: report
LONDON, July 19, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – British police believe they have
identified the suspects who carried out the Novichok nerve agent attack on a
former Moscow double agent and his daughter and that they are Russian, the
Press Association news agency reported Thursday.
“Investigators believe they have identified the suspected perpetrators of
the Novichok attack through CCTV and have cross-checked this with records of
people who entered the country around that time,” a source with knowledge of
the investigation told PA.
“They (investigators) are sure they (suspects) are Russian,” the source
added.
Scotland Yard police headquarters refused to comment on the report when
contacted by AFP.
Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed in the
southwestern English city of Salisbury on March 4 after being exposed to the
nerve agent Novichok.
Both have since recovered.
Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning of Skripal, a former military
intelligence colonel who was jailed for betraying Russian agents to Britain’s
MI6 foreign intelligence service.
He left Russia for Britain in a 2010 spy swap.
Russia has strongly denied involvement in the Skripal attack, sparking a
row that has led to tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Britain and its
allies and Moscow.
Russia’s ambassador to Britain Alexander Yakovenko told the BBC on
Thursday he had heard nothing official from the government.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: “This is an ongoing and
complex investigation and I can’t comment on the speculation around it.”
– Perfume bottle –
Two Britons fell ill last month in a town near Salisbury after being
exposed to Novichok, one of whom died.
Experts are seeking to establish whether the toxin was from the same batch
used against the Skripals. Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her 45-year-old partner
Charlie Rowley collapsed at his house in Amesbury within hours of each other
on June 30.
Sturgess died on July 8, prompting police to open a murder investigation,
while Rowley has regained consciousness and is in stable condition.
The Press Association said investigators believe Sturgess was exposed to at
least 10 times the amount of nerve agent as the Skripals came into contact
with.
Police have said it was detected in a “small bottle” at Rowley’s house.
Rowley’s brother Matthew told the BBC that the 45-year-old had told him
the Novichok was contained in a perfume bottle.
Investigators are working to the theory that Sturgess sprayed Novichok
straight onto her skin, the PA source said.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons earlier this week
said its inspectors had collected samples in the Amesbury case and were
analysing them.
– Fingertip search –
An inquest into the death of Sturgess opened on Thursday in Salisbury and
was adjourned until a pre-inquest review on January 16, pending further
investigation.
The short hearing heard evidence that Sturgess suffered “respiratory
distress” and her body has now been released to the family for her funeral.
In English law, inquests are held to examine violent, unnatural or
unexplained deaths. They set out to determine the place, time and type of
death, but do not apportion blame.
Police have recovered more than 400 exhibits, samples and items as part of
the investigation into the death of Sturgess.
“Searches are still expected to continue for several weeks, if not
months,” Scotland Yard has said.
On Wednesday, police started a search of the Queen Elizabeth Gardens in
Salisbury. Certain areas were to be searched by fingertip, in a search due to
last several days.
The New York Times reported Sunday that British investigators believe the
Skripals were targed by current or former agents of the GRU Russian military
intelligence agency.
The GRU, where Skripal worked, is also accused of interfering with the
2016 US presidential election. Twelve of its officers were charged Friday
with hacking Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
The newspaper report cited a British official, a US official and a former
US official familiar with the inquiry.
BSS/AFP/RY/1828 hrs